Damon Dark - Origins

Origins

Growing up in Australia in the 70s and 80s, Adrian Sherlock felt it "unfair" that science fiction series Doctor Who and Star Trek were from the UK and the USA, but there was no equivalent from Australia. In 1978, he saw a late night screening of an episode of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's series "UFO" which left a lasting impression on him. (The episode was called "Timelash") He took inspiration from this episode and later noticed the name of a newspaper journalist who wrote TV reviews for the Melbourne Herald Newspaper: David Dark. Basing a UFO hunting character on David Dark, Adrian created the Damon Dark. (The name Damon came from writer Damon Knight after Adrian saw the Twlight Zone episode To Serve Man. He felt Damon was more unusual than David and was similar to the word demon.) He would later write to Ed Bishop, star of UFO, about appearing in a pilot film, "Damon Dark: Shadofall" which would introduce the Australian UFO hunter, Damon Dark. While this deal fell through, Adrian's dream of creating his own equivalent to British and American science fiction series led to the production of a semi-professional TV pilot episode called Damon Dark: "Timeslip" in 1996. When this was not picked up by TV networks, he made a continuation for community TV, through ERA (Eastern Regional Access) a branch of Community TV 31 in Melbourne, beginning production in 1998. The pilot and subsequent four episodes were first broadcast on the local community television station Channel 31 Melbourne from September to October 1999, in an 11 PM, Thursday night timeslot and told the adventures of Damon Dark, an agent working for a Department Six, a secret service branch investigating and fighting against hostile alien incursions into Earth society. Episode 4 carried a warning that Damon Dark was suitable for mature adults due to adult themes and sexual references. In the original TV run, the alien menace was unseen, operating through human agents which they either employed or controlled in some way. The final episode of the original run featured an alien which could adopt a human shape. The UFO itself was unseen, too, having landed under the sea. The series initially followed a similar format to The X-Files, with Damon and various female Agents, first Candy Ryan, (Susan Leigh Anderson) then Veruca Stone, (Niobe Dean) setting off on an investigation, usually centered around UFO sightings and conspiracies. In 2012, Damon Dark is due to become a stage show in Australia, titled "Damon Dark, UFO hunter." Unlike the web and TV series versions, the stage play is a human drama focusing on the impact Damon's childhood UFO encounter had on his life, how it led to his becoming a UFO hunter and member of the secret service and how this affects his personal life, alluding to consequences for him, his wife Helen Dark and his son Adam Dark. The play was listed with Geelong Performing Arts Centre and premiered at the Woodbin Theatre Geelong on July 14, 2012. A subsequent performance took place on July 21 and the play is scheduled to return on September 22.